Darkness Within
by AngelEyes87
Summary: A poem retelling the events that unfolded in the Lost Cathedral especially the destined battle with Siegfried and Nightmare. Siegfried is on the quest to put an end to Nightmare and to redeem himself, but will he fail in his inevitable encounter?


**A/N: ** Now one of the interesting aspects of the SC series, even though it is pretty obvious, it's the struggling battle between Siegfried and Nightmare. And like any other Soul Calibur fan I would often imagine the battle between these two awesome warriors at the end of SC3 would be like that. A strange thing happened to me a few nights back as I was browsing through some of my old works and I came across an original poem that I had wrote about two or three years back. As I was reading it reminded me somewhat of the destined battle with Nightmare. Because of this I decided to rewrite the poem from Siegfried's point of view, describing his thoughts and feelings as he encounters Nightmare in the Lost Cathedral. I hope you enjoy this :)

**Darkness Within**

**By AngelEyes87**

Hurdling down a path of chaos, I found myself  
Trapped in a violent cyclone of a twirling vortex  
Looking from left to right and all around me  
I see nothing but an unwelcoming darkness

Clumsily I stumbled onwards, staggering as  
I almost lost my footing a few times while  
Trying to seek a way out, dragging my  
Giant blade behind me on the floor

Without warning a bright ray of light shone  
Piercing through my surroundings, blinding me  
I halted, raising my hand to shield my eyes  
Is this an oracle from the heavens above?

The light vanished as quickly as it came  
Curiously, carefully I lowered my hand  
Anticipation filled my senses, waiting  
For an enemy's surprise ambush

Surprisingly nothing happened at all  
Instead I was standing in a deserted cathedral  
A light breeze infiltrated the area  
Everything seemed all serene and peaceful

The sound of flowing water gently was heard  
Magnificent statues watched me from afar  
Such a holy place of tranquillity, so pure  
Untainted by corruption of all mankind

Why, just why was I summoned here?  
Had I ceased to exist in the physical world  
That I had died and somehow slipped  
Into the next world where my soul now resides?

Checking my pulse I released a deep sigh  
It appears that I am still alive and well  
Maybe this is an illusion of the mind  
A mere trick spawned from my imagination

Just then I felt that I wasn't alone anymore  
A strong eerie presence entered from behind  
Invading my personal space, my peace of mind  
Instantly putting me on edge as it crept close

How is this even possible I silently asked?  
I thought demons and evil spirits cannot  
Set foot on consecrated grounds such as  
This ethereal, hallowed shrine

Resistance was futile, I realised, as I  
Slowly turned around, not believing my eyes  
How can he still be roaming this world  
When he was my alter ego seven years ago?

Nightmare, the accursed Azure Knight  
Wielder of the horrifying sword Soul Edge  
It was a weapon that consumed human souls  
To feed its insatiable appetite

A dull throb took hold of my right hand  
Serving as a cruel reminder of my unforgivable past  
The Holy Sword resonated in reaction to  
Its sinister counterpart, glowing faintly

"Wretched soul, you can never escape!"  
The monster roared in its inhuman voice  
"You shall never break free of your sins  
So give into the darkness and offer your soul!"

No, I cannot turn back – not right now  
My spirit cries out for redemption  
It is my mission, my only responsibility  
To rid the evil that was born from me

With my conviction renewed I spoke out loud  
"I knew you were following me, phantom!  
Let's settle this once and for all.  
I will not surrender to the likes of you!"

A loud war cry tore from my throat  
Sword drawn, I charged towards my opponent  
Determined to strike him down dead  
So that I can finally fulfil my epic quest

Seconds agonisingly dragged into minutes  
As we was engaged in such fierce combat  
Our swords clash against each other  
Both of us aiming for that one fatal blow

Not even half an hour had passed  
And I was starting to fatigue  
But still I continued to fight  
One step at a time

But the hands of fate worked against me  
My dreams and hopes were falling apart  
Pain surged throughout when his sword  
Drove into my back and I fell forward

His mutated claw enclosed my throat  
Tightly squeezing and choking the life from me  
As I was hoisted high in the air above him  
While a part of my soul was fed to the blade

The beast's crimson eyes glistened with pleasure  
Before he chucked me to the far side of the room  
I hit the cold ground with full force, groaning  
My will, body and mind shattering into pieces

Struggling, I tried valiantly to raise myself onto my knees  
Helplessly watching as Nightmare marched over  
Stalking me as if I was his prey and if he was the predator  
Wanting nothing more than to grant me my demise

Soul Calibur dropped from my grasp with a loud thud  
I knew my time had come, that I had failed my father  
Whispering a heartfelt apology from within, my head  
Bowed down in shame as I awaited death's embrace

Suddenly with a loud gasp, my eyes snapped open  
My chest heaving as I realised it was but a mere dream  
Unfortunately I can hear his taunts ringing in my ears,  
"Try if you must, but the nightmare will never end!"

**A/N: **Personally I think that Siegfried would suffer from nightmarish dreams in SC3 and 4 when he is on the quest to seek redemption and this is what makes him so determined in defeating Nightmare. By the way I felt sorry for Siegfried when he crystallised in a few SC4 endings, especially his own ending :( And yes, this is the first ever poem I've ever wrote for Soul Calibur.


End file.
